


Yuravut Dawn

by FireflyPie



Series: Memories of Impyria [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Desertion, Historical Fantasy, Poetry, Post-Battle, Soldiers, War, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 04:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireflyPie/pseuds/FireflyPie
Summary: The night was deep and dark. An ocean of horses bore them forwards, the land around them sweeping by like the wind; the pounding of hooves beat in time with the pounding of Ira’s heart and the wailing of the bereaved; one of the avatars of a god rode at the head of her charging comrades, bringing the absolute certainty that victory was near - this was the night when the Tialin Clan finally fell.
Series: Memories of Impyria [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196009





	Yuravut Dawn

The twenty-second year of the reign of Empress Arkasha Veisnova the Radiant, thirtieth day of the ninth month. Dragons had already been gone from the land for nearly a decade, and in order to keep expanding north, the Impyrian army had been fighting the Tialin Clan of the Yuravut Plains for many months. Though the Tialin made use of many tactics that Impyria had never seen before, the Impyrian army had been tempered through many bitter years of strife with monstrous dragons, and heralded by the twin avatars of the phoenix sun god, how could they fail to achieve victory?

Dawn rose over the Yuravut Plains. Ira recalled the books written, the songs sung (“Wild and untamed/Deeper than the seas/Fingers chasing slipping snow,/I could not bear to leave.”) of the beauty of the grasslands, yet it was wholly unlike the cold beauty carved out of the snow that was her homeland, Impyria; it was wide and intimidating, the sky an endless dome, the grass a boundless sea, the sunlight a crimson veil over the misty mountains in the distance. The wind picked up slightly, a lonely sound.

And yet, the scene before Ira was far from empty. Even if it had been empty, the humming aura of magic and death that settled over the wide swathes of land told her that something truly terrible had happened here.

With a trembling hand on the pommel of her sword, Ira walked through the scorched earth and the charred corpses of Impyrians and Tialin alike amidst the sea of destruction; this was a massacre that cared not for friend or foe. It hinted at a vicious lashing-out of magic cast in desperation, wholly different from the phoenix god’s steel-melting divine flames, but no less powerful. Though she had not been here to see what had happened in person, she knew for certain what must have taken place the night before - and who could have done such a thing. She knew, because she had captured the monster herself as a prisoner of war just a week ago.

“ - seize the horses! Leave no escape!”

“Come on, you fucking bastards, how…”

“ - to the General, the mage battalions are reporting - “

The night was deep and dark. An ocean of horses bore them forwards, the land around them sweeping by like the wind; the pounding of hooves beat in time with the pounding of Ira’s heart and the wailing of the bereaved; one of the avatars of a god rode at the head of her charging comrades, bringing the absolute certainty that victory was near - this was the night when the Tialin Clan finally fell. The Impyrian army had the enemy camp surrounded after days of chasing the routed Tialin forces across the Yuravut. This outcome was inevitable, inevitable as the rising of the sun.

“Why’s one of the Avatars here? Wasn’t he heading the eastern front?” a soldier muttered, his voice high and nervous. He was fearful, Ira knew, because whenever the Phoenix Avatars appeared, they left fiery destruction in their wake.

“Because the war ends tonight, and he wants the glory,” Ira whispered, but the wind stole her words away, and nobody heard.

Ghost-like and pale, a small group of people bearing the white flag of surrender boldly approached the soldiers. For the Impyrians, it was like sighting land after an eternity at sea. For the Tialin… well, Ira could only guess.

“Great Queen of the Tialin.” The Phoenix Avatar’s voice was measured and deep as he stopped his horse. “It is an honor to finally meet you.”

Ira would never forget what happened next. A tall, unarmored woman, barefoot and empty-handed, stepped forth from the small entourage. The high cheekbones, pointed ears, and white hair characteristic of the Tialin seemed sharply defined in the moonlight, an immaculate figure standing quietly before the mighty Avatar in his golden armor, a contrast that would have been poetic if it hadn’t been so tragic. Although her face betrayed neither anger nor shame, the flag in her hands shook without cease. This was the Great Queen, Shue Tialin. The reed that refused to bend.

“Your Grace.” Her eyes glittered as she haltingly spoke the language of her hated enemy, and Ira was uncertain whether she was being polite or coldly sarcastic. “What have we done to anger the gods this time?”

“You are mistaken. I am no god. This land is meant to be Impyria’s. There is no point in further resistance - you people have neither the right nor the strength.”

The queen smiled, a ripple in the water’s surface. “Why do you think I am here? Impyrians truly are stubborn. I merely have one request…”

“A condition of surrender?”

She raised an eyebrow. “You are on the winning side, and I, the losing one. Do not condescend to think that I would be so prideful. I simply humbly request that you refrain from slaughtering my people, wiping my race off the face of this earth, like you have done to the dragons.” She folded her arms. “I hope the Impyrians have not lost their reason after so many years of warring.”

The Phoenix Avatar, emotionless as always, nodded. “Bind the Great Queen and take her away,” he said to Ira. The Great Queen of the Tialin silently let herself be bound.

That night, under the cover of darkness and the stupor of drunken soldiers, Ira ran away from the army.

She did not know exactly why, and she did not know where she was going. Ira had never been one to think deeply about the matters of her heart, but like weightless snowflakes piling up into an avalanche, she knew that she could not ignore this feeling anymore.

_Shue Tialin! You knew from the very start that you wouldn’t stand a chance against Impyria. So, why? Why would you put your people through this, why would you do this to yourself? Are you one of those scum who value dignity over life?_

The Tialin Clan. The Impyrian army. The Empress. The fickle gods. They were all on a collision course with one another, desperately reaching for water that trickled through their fingers, so they always wanted more, more, more. When would it stop? When every last piece of land was chopped up and distributed? When every last crumb of power was consumed? When would the people finally be satisfied?

Ira had seen the frantic opulence of those once-poor soldiers who had supported the Empress to the top of the world, the lives burned at the stake of war for the sake of her country, the moon-cold gaze of the Great Queen Shue Tialin that seemed to see through her. It made her sick to her stomach, of them, for waging war, and herself, for being a coward. She obviously had no loyalty to Impyria, no resolve to plunge in the knife when it was already at the neck of the enemy. So what did she have?

In the end, she could only run.

Far across the distance, she thought she somehow heard Shue Tialin singing faintly from the prison tent.

"Wild and untamed, deeper than the seas,

Fingers chasing slipping snow, I could not bear to leave."

"Steps of the Tialin, bringing you to me - 

Helpless to the burning sun, love that could not be."


End file.
